WHO: Ebola-affected countries should screen exiting travelers

The World Health Organization is urging countries affected by the current Ebola outbreak
in West Africa to check exiting travelers for signs consistent with infection by the
virus.

The WHO say travelers leaving countries affected by the Ebola virus should be screened for signs of infection.

Without specifying exactly which countries they are, the UN health agency "requests" in a
statement issued on Monday that affected countries "conduct exit screening of all persons at
international airports, seaports and major land crossings, for unexplained febrile illness
consistent with potential Ebola infection."

Anyone whose symptoms are consistent with Ebola virus disease should not be allowed to leave
an affected country, unless they are leaving as "part of an appropriate medical evacuation,"
says the World Health Organization (WHO) statement.

The UN agency is not currently recommending that non-affected countries that do not share
borders with affected countries bring in travel restrictions and active screening of passengers
arriving at sea ports, airports or ground crossings.

The current outbreak of Ebola virus disease, which to date has claimed over 1,000 lives, is
thought to have started in Guinea last December. It has since spread and is still spreading in
Guinea, and neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone, and a traveler carrying the virus also infected
a small number of people in Nigeria.

In a more recent situation statement issued on Tuesday, the WHO says while the outbreak
continues to develop, at present no cases have been confirmed anywhere else in the world outside
of these four countries.

On August 8th, the UN agency declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a Public Health
Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), as defined by International Health Regulations
(2005).

Travel and Transport Task Force is established

To try and contain the disease and prevent it spreading to other countries, a Travel and
Transport Task Force has been set up to monitor the situation and keep travelers, plus travel and
tourism organizations, up to date.

Members of the task force include heads of WHO, the International Air Transport Association
(IATA), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and Airports Council International
(ACI).

In the Monday statement, the UN agency reminds travelers and travel organizations that Ebola
does not spread easily and risk of transmission in an airplane is low. Ebola cannot spread in the
air, unlike flu and TB. You can only catch it by direct contact with blood and other bodily
fluids from an infected living or dead person or animal.

Also, an infected person is only contagious when they start to experience symptoms. The
incubation period can be from 2-21 days, after which initial symptoms like fever, muscle
pain, headache, weakness and sore throat begin, and are then followed by more severe symptoms
like vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and in some cases, bleeding.

Another reason that the risk of catching Ebola during air travel is so low is that infected
people are usually so sick they are unlikely to be traveling and getting on an aircraft.

In any case, travelers are urged to wash their hands regularly and practice good hygiene.

Ebola is spreading in West Africa mainly because sick people are infecting
family and friends who are nursing them. It also spreads when people do not follow strict
prevention and control measures when preparing the bodies of those who have died of the disease
for funerals and burials.

Another way the disease is spreading is in clinics and health care facilities where people
come into unprotected contact with infected patients. In Nigeria, all cases of infection were of
people who were in direct contact with a single traveler who was taken into the hospital when they
arrived in Lagos.

In contrast to West Africa, affluent countries have the health care infrastructure to isolate
suspected cases, provide advanced medical care, surveillance, and handle biohazards, says Dr.
Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The WHO say all countries should give citizens traveling to countries affected by Ebola up-to-date, relevant information about the outbreak and advise them on how to reduce exposure and risk
of infection.

Situation in Guinea and Nigeria showing encouraging signs

Meanwhile, the agency reports that the situation in Nigeria and Guinea is showing "encouraging
signs."

In Guinea, there is higher public awareness of the facts surrounding Ebola and how to reduce
risk of infection. Villages that had previously been resisting outside help are now cooperating,
resulting in a surge of reported cases.

However, this does not mean the outbreak is under control. Progress is fragile, and there is a
real risk that the outbreak could resurge as indicated by the report of a new case in a
previously unaffected area.

In Nigeria's capital Lagos, where the first imported case was detected in July, the situation
"looks reassuring," say the WHO. So far, the evidence points to all 11 other infected people being
part of a single chain of transmission. These include medical staff and another patient in the
same hospital.

Nobody else on the same flight as the initial patient was infected, and "intensive contact
tracing" by the Nigerian health authorities with help from the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, has so far not identified any further confirmed cases outside the initial
transmission chain.

The fact that one of the infected people has recovered is also reassuring, say the WHO, and helps
counter the widespread perception that infection with Ebola is a death sentence. There is
evidence that if you detect it and treat it early there is a good chance of survival.

The authorities remain cautiously optimistic as they stay on high alert and continue with
intensive efforts to search for new cases, so that any further spread in Nigeria can be
stopped.

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